Tag: 08.16.05

What To Make Of “Britain’s Best Paintings”?

The list, to be voted on by the public, is a familiar one. “These are the paintings in Britain’s galleries most often written about, most regularly reproduced. People love them precisely because they are as familiar as old friends. Pablo Picasso is out while Sir Henry Raeburn is in. In a sense, this list – chosen by a panel but based on public nominations – is a tribute to art education. It may be predictable, but it is wide-ranging.”

Fo: Think 20 Years

Playwright Dario Fo makes a rare public appearance. “Asked what his advice would be for writers who had not yet reached his level of achievement and recognition, an amiable Fo said: ‘It is not just a question of experience, nor is it a question of age … There are some people who live only 20 years, but many, many people remember them because they knew how to live the time that was given to them. I’m not suggesting that you should live only 20 years. Live as long as you can, but from time to time, think ’20 years, 20 years, 20 years’, and put them together’.”

Cincinnati Symphony Raises Ticket Prices, Takes A Big Hit

Last season the Cincinnati Symphony raised ticket prices by 25 percent. It was a disastrous move. “The orchestra lost 10 percent of its subscribers and its attendance dropped 12 percent in the 51-concert season that ended in May, in figures released today by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Average attendance was 1,707, meaning on most nights, the 3,417-seat Music Hall was half empty. Such a steep decline in one year is unprecedented in recent symphony history. For the past decade, attendance has hovered between 1,900 and 2,000. Last season, 1,935 concertgoers heard the symphony play on an average concert evening.”